A view of a computer screen showing a digital portrait of the Turkish Prime Minister and text reading "Yes we ban" on a laptop computer screen, in front of graffiti in Istanbul (AFP Photo / Ozan Kose) / AFP

Turkey’s Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan made a formal complaint with the country’s constitutional court on Friday, calling secret recordings spread on social media a violation of his family’s rights.

Erdogan is challenging the court’s decision to lift a ban on
Twitter and YouTube after the premier’s government blocked the
social media sites on March 21 - during the lead-up to local
elections - for not blocking secret audio recordings featuring
him, family members, and figures of his inner circle allegedly
dealing in corruption.

The Twitter block was lifted in early April after the
constitutional court ruled that it violated freedom of expression in
Turkey. Erdogan has aggressively opposed the decision, saying the
judiciary is stocked with political critics. YouTube is still blocked in the country.

A senior official told Reuters that Erdogan appealed to the
constitutional court through his lawyer, to protest the court’s
decision to lift the blockade. The prime minister is seeking
50,000 lira (US$23,500) in compensation.

Erdogan says the online posting of the recordings is a violation
of his family’s privacy and freedom of communication, claiming
that the material leaked on the sites is part of a
“villainous” plot hatched by his
political rivals. He has denied allegations of corruption and
says some of the recordings were manipulated in an effort to
attack his leadership.

Wiretapped recordings began to appear online at the end of last
year, following a political split between Erdogan and former ally
and rival Fethullah Gulen – a powerful preacher and politician
currently exiled in the US.

Among dozens of damaging revelations was a purported intelligence
agency plan to stage a false flag attack on a Turkish monument in Syria, and a
conversation between Erdogan and his family about millions of
dollars in cash stashed in his house.

Turkish officials met with Twitter representatives in Ankara this
week in an effort to resolve differences. The American company
has said it will not open an office in Turkey, nor will it pay a
Turkish tax, despite Erdogan's requests to do so, as RT has
previously reported.

The Twitter and YouTube bans came amid a larger internet crackdown by Erdogan’s government days before local
elections nationwide. The moves were denounced by foreign allies and human rights
advocates.

Despite the allegations of impropriety shown in the recordings,
and the social media curbs put in place, Erdogan’s Justice and
Development Party (AKP) claimed a solid victory at the polls.